Device for clearing fluent material from bunker type storage containers

ABSTRACT

A device for emptying bunkers and other similar vertical storage containers in which the device includes a horizontally elongated rectangular housing which provides a support for drive wheels to move the device and which also mounts a horizontal clearing wheel for rotation. The device is mounted for horizontal movement in a chamber at the lower end of the bunker. The clearing wheel has a diameter greater than the width of a roof shaped cover within which the carriage is mounted for horizontal movement. This arrangement allows the blade to be engaged by fluent material in the bunker on both sides of the cover. The blade rotates in a plane adjacent horizontal support surfaces at each side of the cover so the fluent material is loosened and moved to fall through a slot onto a conveyor. By virtue of this straight through arrangement, jamming and clogging of the fluent material is avoided, and by virtue of the block shaped or rectangular housing, the manufacturing cost of the device is substantially reduced.

United States Paten 1191 Teske et al.

[ July 3, 1973 DEVICE FOR CLEARING FLUENT MATERIAL FROM BUNKER TYPESTORAGE CONTAINERS [75] Inventors: Fritz Teske; Lothar Teske, both ofPorz-We sthoven; Robert Dreismann, Cologne-Niehl, all of Germany [73]Assignee: Maschinenbau Louise GmbH,

Porz-Westhoven, Germany [22] Filed: Oct. 28, 1970 [211 Appl. No.: 84,573

[52] US. Cl. 214/17 DA, 198/126, l98/2l2 [51] Int. Cl. B65g 65/48 [58]Field of Search 2l4/l7 DA, 17 D,

214/15 E, 17 DC; 198/212, 126, 63', 222/410 Primary Examiner-Robert G.Sheridan Attorney-Lowry, Rinehart, Markva & Smith [57] ABSTRACT A devicefor emptying bunkers and other similar vertical storage containers inwhich the device includes a horizontally elongated rectangular housingwhich provides a support for drive wheels to move the device and whichalso mounts a horizontal clearing wheel for rotation. The device ismounted for horizontal movement in a chamber at the lower end of thebunker. The clearing wheel has a diameter greater than the width of aroof shaped cover within which the carriage is mounted for horizontalmovement. This arrangement allows the blade to be engaged by fluentmaterial in the bunker on both sides of the cover. The blade rotates ina plane adjacent horizontal support surfaces at each side of the [56]References Cited cover so the fluent material is loosened and moved toUNITED STATES PATENTS fall through a slot onto a conveyor. By virtue ofthis 2,815,134 12/1957 Borrowdale 214/17 DC Straight through arrangementjamming and clogging of 3,401,787 9/1968 Vaka 214 17 DC the fluentmaterial is avoided, and by virtue of the block shaped or rectangularhousing, the manufactur- FOR-EIGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATONS ing cost of thedevice is substantially reduced. 1,316,086 l2/l962 France 214/17 DA T890,626 9/1953 Germany 214/17 DA 8 Claims, Drawmg Figures ISZ rPATENTEDJUL 3191a 3743.1 19

FIG. 3 FIGl.

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INVENTOR snr Dan;

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DEVICE FOR CLEARING FLUENT MATERIAL FROM BUNKER TYPE STORAGE CONTAINERSThe invention relates to a device for the clearing of bunkers or otherbin line storage receptacles by means of bunker emptying carriages,wherein a clearing wheel of the carriage passes along over a tablesurface supporting bulk material.

The bunker emptying carriages of the type specified have hitherto beenso constructed that the emptying carriage is a frame structure on whichthe necessary operating elements are arranged. The frame is an openframe comprising U-section, I-I-section or T-section beams or rails.This frame structure comprises, for receiving the driving parts such asmotors, transmissions and the like, and also for forming bearings forthe shafts at the requisite places, plates which are secured between thebeams or rails. Such frame structures are expensive to manufacturebecause the frame structure must be of good shape-retaining propertiesand resistant to distortion. In addition the driving elements, which arecoupled to one another, must be carefully aligned with one another andmust be mounted in a very stable manner so that no displacement occursduring operation which would result in disturbing operations.

The invention has as its object to provide a clearing installation forbunkers containing fluent material wherein in addition to requiring thesmallest possible space for the bunker emptying carriage it is possibleto obtain the maximum clearing capacity. According to the inventionthere is provided a bunker emptying carriage which comprises ablock-type or box shaped housing accommodating the transmissions for theclearing wheel and the running or drive wheels and also all holders andbearings for these driven parts, and

which surrounds and fully encloses the apparatus and parts. The housingis constructed as an elongated blocknation of many components in asingle unit, much more advantageous with regard to cost than aconstruction of an emptying carriage requiring many individual elements,since for each individual element it is always necessary to use similarconstruction parts such as transmission housings bearings etc. which, inthe case of a compact constructional arrangement, are replaced by acommon housing.

This kind of block construction for the bunker emptying carriage makesit possible for the bunker emptying carriage to be arranged within anarrow upper roofshaped cover. The clearing horizontal wheel of theblock-construction emptying carriage extends far beyond the sides of theroof-shaped cover. Advantageously the diameter of the clearing wheel isa multiple of the width of the roof-shaped cover for the bunker emptyingcarriage.

Constructing the bunker emptying installation in this way permits ahigh-output, straightforward and trouble-free clearing of bulk materialfrom a bunker, independently of how the bunker is constructed. It is notnecessary to limit oneself to clearing the material lying on the tablesurface with a natural slope, and on the contrary the installation ofthe present invention makes it possible for the clearing wheel to extendto and clear material-from precisely the region of the table surfacewhere the column of bulk material, i.e., the quantity of bulk materialin a bunker of considerable height, bears directly on the table surface.The arrangement of the present invention for such an installation allowsthe clearing wheel to engage in the bulk material in a colfrom above asit is removed from the bottom or must slip down, and that the clearingof the bulk material is carried out as intensively as is possible. Veryconsiderable masses can be dealt with. Owing to the narrowness of theblock-construction housing of the emptying carriage it is guarteed thatthe clearing wheel is engaged along its entire radial extent by thatmass of a material column exerting a considerable pressure on the tablesurface. The discharging of the material directly from the pressurecolumn or column of material formed in the bunker automatically ensuresthat further material can flow down to replace the material removed.There is no need for any additional guide or the like in the bunker.

The invention will be explained hereinafter with reference to theembodiment illustrated in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side view in elevationof the bunker emptying carriage ofthis invention;

FIG. 2 is a right hand end view-of the device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a view in vertical section of a bunker installation showingthe location of the emptying carriage therein; and

FIG. 4 is a view in vertical section taken along t h line IV-IV of FIG.3.

The bunker emptying carriage 1 comprises a closed housing 2 within whichor on which all the parts necessary for operation are mounted. As isevident from the drawings, the width of the housing 2 is only a fractionof the length of the housing 2. That is, the housing 2 is elongatedalong its direction of travel. In this specific embodiment, a bladeclearing wheel 3 is supported by the housing 2. In addition, there is adrive motor 4 flange connected on one end of the housing 2 and anothermotor 5 flange connected on the opposite end of the housing 2. Drivewheels 6, of which there are four in this embodiment, are locatedrespectively near the ends of the housing 2 and project transverselyfrom opposite sides thereof. Mounted within the housing 2, is thetransmission connecting the drive motor 4 with the blade clearing wheel3 through a reduction gearing for changing rotational speed of the bladewheel 3. The propulsion transmission for connecting the propulsion motor5 with the axles of the drive wheels 6 is also mounted in the housing 2.All the supporting bearings and axles for the drive wheels 6 and theblade wheel 3 are mounted within the housing 2. The axles for the drivewheels 6 are mounted independently in the side walls of the housing 2.The propulsion motor 5 drives all the running wheels 6 at the same time.There can also be provided a further smaller motor 7 which serves as anadjusting motor for the variable transmission situated in the interiorfor changing the rotational speed of the bladed wheel. A variabletransmission of this kind can be either hydraulic or mechanical. Theindividual parts of this variable transmission are mounted directly inthe aforesaid transmission.

If a DC. motor is used for driving the carriage block 2, the adjustmentof the rotational speed of the bladed wheel can be effected directly byvarying the speed of the motor so that there is noneed to mount anadjust ing motor on the transmission block.

The bunker emptying carriage of block construction is also aspace-saving structure. This makes it possible to use the emptyingcarriage in many different applications where relatively simplesupporting structures are desirable.

In the bunker construction shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 there is situated inthe bunker 8, in the lower discharge chamber 9, a roof-shaped coverwithin which the block-form emptying carriage 2 is arranged. The runningwheels 6 of carriage 2 run on tracks or rails 11. The discharge chamber9 of the bunker 8 expedie'ntly comprises both in the direction of travelof the emptying carriage Z'and transversely thereto a cross-sectionalarea which is larger than the cross-sectional area of the upper portionof the bunker 8. The roof-shaped cover 10 has its upper edgeadvantageously spaced below the lower edge 12 of the bunker 8. As aresult, the material issuing downwardly from the bunker 8 can flowfreely and without hindrance around all sides of the cover.

The clearing wheel of the bunker emptying carriage 2 extends in theradial direction considerably beyond the width of the roof-shaped cover10. The clearing wheel 3 advantageously fully occupies the width of thedischarge chamber 9, the clearing wheel 3 extending over the tablesurfaces 13 to almost as far as the vertical walls of the dischargechamber 9. The bulk material is delivered through an aperture betweenthe wide tables 13 on to a conveyor 14, e.g., a belt conveyor, troughand chain conveyor, plate conveyor and the like, by the rotatingclearing wheel 3. Advantageously the diameter of the clearing wheel 3amounts to a multiple of the width of the roof-shaped cover 10 i.e., isseveral times the width of the cover. The pressure of the column ofmaterial in the bunker 8, which can be substantial because of itsconsiderable height, e.g., between 10 and 30 m, bears directly on thetable surfaces 13. The clearing blades of the clearing wheel 3 pass oversaid table surfaces. The material can be a lumpy solid, such as coal.The bunkers 8 are preferably of round or polygonal cross-section.

We claim:

1. A carriage device for clearing material from a bunker comprising:

a. a closed elongated housing having side walls and end walls,

b. a clearing wheel mounted on said housing for rotation about avertical axis,

c. drive walls independently mounted on said side walls for rotation onsaid housing,

d. motor means including two motors mounted on opposite end walls on theoutside of said housing, and

e. transmission means including two power transmissions mounted withinsaid elongated housing and adapted to rotate the drive wheels andclearing wheel in response to rotation of said motor means,

f. said two motors being adapted to separately drive the clearing wheeland drive wheels through their respective transmissions,

g. whereby the operative parts of the device are accommodated by acommon housing,

b. said device being disposed in a chamber located at the lower end of abunker,

i. the diameter of said clearing wheel being only slightly less than thewidth of said chamber.

2. A carriage device for clearing material from a bunker comprising:

a. an elongated common housing having side walls and end walls so thatit is totally closed on all sides thereof,

b. a clearing wheel having outwardly extending arms mounted on saidhousing for rotation about a vertical axis,

c. drive wheels mounted for rotation on said housing,

d. motor means mounted on an end wall of said house. transmission meansmounted within said elongated housing and adapted to rotate the drivewheels and clearing wheel in response to rotation of said motor meanswhereby the operative parts of the carriage device are protected by thecommon elongated housing,

f. said carriage device being disposed in a clearing chamber portionlocated at the lower end of a bunker portion,

g. said clearing chamber portion having a crosssectional area that isgreater than the crosssectional area of the bunker portion and includesspaced-apart support surfaces defining a horizontal slot therebetween,

h. a covered track is disposed within said clearing chamber portion andextends along said slot in vertically spaced relationship to said slotand support surfaces,

i. said covered track including a cover portion and spaced-apart railssupported frryn said cover portion,

j. said drive wheels of said carriage engage the spaced-apart rails tomount said carriage for horizontal movement in the direction parallel toits elongated side walls above said slot, and

k. said clearing wheel being rotatably suspended above said supportsurfaces and having a diameter to project across said support surfaceswhereby the material on said support surfaces is moved to said slot whenthe clearing wheel rotates.

3. A carriage device as defined in claim 2 wherein the cover portion hasthe shape of a peaked roof structure to direct material from the bunkeraway from said rails and toward the support surfaces of the chamber.

4. A carriage device as defined in claim 2 wherein the diameter of theclearing wheel is several times the width of the cover portion of thecovered track.

5. A storage device comprising:

a. a vertically disposed bunker portion having a discharge opening atthe bottom thereof,

b. a clearing chamber portion located below and in open connection withthe bunker portion,

0. an emptying carriage having a clearing wheel dis posed in theclearing chamber portion and a common housing closed on all sides inwhich all carriage driving elements are mounted and protected,

6. A device as defined in claim 5 wherein the table surface includes twooppositely disposed surface por tions projecting laterally under theroof-shaped cover to receive the material from the bunker portion.

7. A device as defined in claim 5 wherein the crosssectional area of theclearing chamber portion is greater than the cross-sectional area of theclearing chamber portion.

8. A device as defined in claim 5 wherein the uppermost portion of theroof-shaped cover is disposed below the lower edge of the bunkerdischarge opening. =l=

1. A carriage device for clearing material from a bunker comprising: a.a closed elongated housing having side walls and end walls, b. aclearing wheel mounted on said housing for rotation about a verticalaxis, c. drive walls independently mounted on said side walls forrotation on said housing, d. motor means including two motors mounted onopposite end walls on the outside of said housing, and e. transmissionmeans including two power transmissions mounted within said elongatedhousing and adapted to rotate the drive wheels and clearing wheel inresponse to rotation of said motor means, f. said two motors beingadapted to separately drive the clearing wheel and drive wheels throughtheir respective transmissions, g. whereby the operative parts of thedevice are accommodated by a common housing, h. said device beingdisposed in a chamber located at the lower end of a bunker, i. thediameter of said clearing wheel being only slightly less than the widthof said chamber.
 2. A carriage device for clearing material from abunker comprising: a. an elongated common housing having side walls andend walls so that it is totally closed on all sides thereof, b. aclearing wheel having outwardly extending arms mounted on said housingfor rotation about a vertical axis, c. drive wheels mounted for rotationon said housing, d. motor means mounted on an end wall of said housing,e. transmission means mounted within said elongated housing and adaptedto rotate the drive wheels and clearing wheel in response to rotation ofsaid motor means whereby the operative parts of the carriage device areprotected by the common elongated housing, f. said carriage device beingdisposed in a clearing chamber portion located at the lower end of abunker portion, g. said clearing chamber portion having across-sectional area that is greater than the cross-sectional area ofthe bunker portion and includes spaced-apart support surfaces defining ahorizontal slot therebetween, h. a covered track is disposed within saidclearing chamber portion and extends along said slot in verticallyspaced relationship to said slot and support surfaces, i. said coveredtrack including a cover portion and spaced-apart rails supported fromsaid cover portion, j. said drive wheels of said carriage engage thespaced-apart rails to mount said carriage for horizontal movement in thedirection parallel to its elongated side walls above said slot, and k.said clearing wheel being rotatably suspended above said supportsurfaces and having a diameter to project across said support surfaceswhereby the material on said support surfaces is moved to said slot whenthe clearing wheel rotates.
 3. A carriage device as defined in claim 2wherein the cover portion has the shape of a peaked roof structure todirect material from the bunker away from said rails and toward thesupport surfaces of the chamber.
 4. A carriage device as defined inclaim 2 wherein the diameter of the clearing wheel is several times thewidth of the cover portion of the covered track.
 5. A storage devicecomprising: a. a vertically disposed bunker portion having a dischargeopening at the bottom thereof, b. a clearing chamber portion locatedbelow and in open connection with the bunker portion, c. an emptyingcarriage having a clearing wheel disposed in the clearing chamberportion and a common housing closed on all sides in which all carriagedriving elements are mounted and protected, d. a table surface laterallydisposed in the clearing chamber portion and being located in operativerelationship with the clearing wheel whereby material stored in thedevice will be removed from the table surface when the clearing wheel isrotated, e. a roof-shaped cover being disposed in the clearing chamberportion above the emptying carriage whereby material moving downwardlyfrom the bunker portion will be directed onto the table surface, f. thetable surface having a breadth contacted by the clearing wheel that islarger than the clear width of the bunker discharge opening.
 6. A deviceas defined in claim 5 wherein the table surface includes two oppositelydisposed surface portions projecting laterally under the roof-shapedcover to receive the material from the bunker portion.
 7. A device asdefined in claim 5 wherein the cross-sectional area of the clearingchamber portion is greater than the cross-sectional area of the bunkerportion.
 8. A device as defined in claim 5 wherein the uppermost portionof the roof-shaped cover is disposed below the lower edge of the bunkerdischarge opening.